Policy, Politics, and Governance
Heterogeneous Effects of Closing the Digital Divide During COVID-19 on Student Engagement and Achievement
Equitably expanding technology access among K-12 students has long been viewed as critical for equalizing educational opportunities. But these interventions may influence students’ academic outcomes in unexpected ways. Prior research suggests key technological resources, like broadband Internet… more →
Education and the Gender Voting Gap
Women in the United States have outpaced men in both voter participation and educational attainment in recent decades. Since education is closely tied to political participation, we consider these trends in tandem and assess how much of the gender gap in voting is attributable to differences in… more →
Backlash? Schooling Reassignments and the Politics of School Desegregation
School desegregation efforts often spark fierce political backlash. This dissent is typically ascribed to families’ dissatisfaction with the changes in schooling assignments required to achieve desegregation aims. In this paper we use the empirical context of the Wake County Public School System… more →
The Peer Effects of Grade Retention
We study the peer effects of grade retention in the context of Indiana’s statewide third-grade retention policy. When a retention occurs, it changes the peer group for two cohorts: rising fourth graders who lose a peer and rising third graders who gain a peer. We identify peer effects in both… more →
Return on Investment or Ripoff? Examining the Returns to New Master’s Degree Programs
Universities have created more than 14,000 new master’s degree programs in the last two decades, and much of this is likely driven by an effort to increase institutional revenues during challenging financial times. But this expansion in graduate education creates a risk that these new programs… more →
State Intervention and Racialized Policy Aversion in Michigan's Black School Districts
For the past thirty years, Michigan has used Emergency Management (EM) and receiverships to solve city and school finance issues. The impact of these state intervention policies has been highly publicized and has led to institutional distrust among black citizens in urban communities —with the… more →
Curricular-Credential Decoupling: How Schools Respond to Career and Technical Education Policy
This study examines College and Career Readiness (CCR) policy implementation through the lens of decoupling. We investigate how high schools have jointly implemented Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Industry-Based Certifications (IBCs), and whether there is evidence of curricular-… more →
In the Wake of Dobbs: The Effect of State Abortion Bans on Women's College Choices
This paper studies the impact of state reproductive rights laws on women’s human capital decisions after the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022). Using data from the Common App, the undergraduate college… more →
Measuring Conflict in Local Politics
Many of the most tangible and immediate political conflicts in American's lives occur at the local level. Yet, we lack large-scale evidence on how, why, and where conflict occurs in local governments. In this paper, we present a new dataset of nearly 100,000 videos of school board meetings, and… more →
Experimental Effects of “Opportunity Gap” and “Achievement Gap” Frames
Racial equity in education is often framed around “closing the achievement gap,” but many scholars argue this frame perpetuates deficit mindsets. The “opportunity gap” (OG) frame has been offered as an alternative to focus attention on structural injustices. In a preregistered survey experiment… more →
Reconstructing PhD Admissions Through Organizational Learning
The goal of this study was to assess the outcomes of a grant-funded intervention designed to provide comprehensive training and support for holistic admissions in 26 STEM PhD programs at five California research universities. This pilot intervention combined a flexible, research-based model of… more →
Policy Impacts of Reimbursement Rate Reform: Evidence from the Child Care and Development Fund
The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidizes child care costs to help low- income families afford care. Reimbursements for cost-subsidized care are paid to child care providers; however, per-child reimbursements are extremely low compared with market rates and actual cost of care. We… more →
Exploring the Move Away from ‘Zero -Tolerance’ Policies: Evidence from Restorative Justice Practices in Texas and Michigan Schools
This study examines the impact of statewide Restorative Justice (RJ) policy reforms in Michigan and Texas on student disciplinary outcomes and behavior, in light of increasing concerns over the negative effects of zero-tolerance policies. As schools move away from exclusionary discipline… more →
Effects of Early College on Educational Attainment for All in Massachusetts
Evaluations of Early College, a type of intervention that enables simultaneous enrollment in secondary and post-secondary courses in the United States, consistently find positive effects on educational attainment across racial and socioeconomic groups.
Leveling the Playing Field: Default Policy and its Effects on English Learner Reclassification
Reclassification, the process by which English learner (EL) students exit EL classification, often determines ELs’ access to mainstream academic coursework. While existing research finds that many students who demonstrate English proficiency do not reclassify, few studies evaluate policies that… more →
Overcoming the Protestor’s Dilemma: How Teacher Strikes Demobilize Opponents
The “Protestor’s Dilemma” refers to the paradox faced by protestors where their disruptive actions, while necessary to gain public attention and support, could potentially provoke backlash and weaken the very support they seek to gain. How can protestors overcome this dilemma? Teacher strikes… more →
The Effects of Losing Pell Grant Eligibility on Student Outcomes
While initial Pell Grant eligibility is solely determined by financial need, students must achieve Satisfactory Academic Progress to retain it. Students eligible for higher aid are less likely to complete college when they lose eligibility compared to those with lower aid. This non-random… more →
High School Career and Technical Education Finance: Impact of State-Level Policy Changes
States are increasingly adopting changes to K-12 funding systems in order to promote and encourage student engagement in secondary-level career and technical education (CTE). Two of the most prevalent reforms include: a) establishing tiered weights for CTE in school funding formulas based on the… more →
I know my rights? Iowa Senate File 496, book bans, and the First and Fourteenth Amendments
This instrumental case study explores 31 Iowan educators’ and board of education members’ perceptions of the ways the state’s book ban law, Senate File 496 influenced school information systems. Mathisen’s (2015) informational justice conceptual framework guided data analysis. The three key… more →
Expanding School Counseling: The Impacts of California Funding Changes
Counselors are a common school resource for students navigating complicated and consequential education choices. However, most students have limited access to school counselors. We study one of the largest U.S. policies to increase access to school counselors - California's Supplemental School… more →